In the Event of My Death, Click Here…

If you’re reading this, odds are decently good that I’m actually still alive. However, if you know me well enough to have been told that I’ve died, I hope life finds you well and happy…and thanks for stopping by.

This post is obviously a touch on the morbid side, but I feel that it is something that needs to be written. A guide, if you will, for my surviving friends and family. It’s also somewhat of a boot-in-the-ass to get mine and my wife’s last will hammered out, which we have been putting off for the past 6-ish months since deciding that we needed to do so. Last summer, while visiting our best friends in Texas, we asked them if they would do us the honor of being our son’s God-parents and take custody of him in the event of our untimely deaths. They lovingly agreed and we have informed our families of our wishes; however, this hasn’t been legally set in stone so we really need to get it done to avoid any potential issues that could arise, as well as the undue suffering of any parties involved. We are currently in the underwriting process of obtaining new life insurance and, once finalized, we will get the will hammered out. I’ve been researching and I think we are going to go the do-it-yourself route through Legal Zoom.

Anyway…

Dear Cheyenne aka Lovebug [unless you died with me :)] Rowan, Mom, Dad, Jeremy, Kyleigh, DeDe, Grandmas, Grandpas, Matt, Chelle, and every one of my other surviving family and friends,

To begin, I love you all. Secondly, this one post will (hopefully) serve as an extremely simple, straightforward, one-stop-shop for our wishes regarding your handling of our amazing son and finances upon my/our death. May you study and learn from my blog, the fellow bloggers around my site, and the bloggers that I am about to list below, as they were who got me started down this path to attaining financial independence. This path, if you so choose to take as well, will result in the most stress-free living, bringing you closer together with your loved ones than you have ever thought possible.

The following blogs provided me with the foundation of knowledge to pursue financial independence and, likewise, placed within me the strongest and most burning desire to reach that pinnacle and retire early, thereby allowing me the opportunity and privilege to live life on my own terms and schedule, as opposed to continuing the chase of the almighty dollar, as a hamster in his never-ending wheel, so that I may continue floundering in debt and servitude, trading the minutes and hours of my life for things. This pursuit of stuff does nothing more than rob me of those precious minutes that would be better spent with my loved ones.

As for Rowan’s inheritance, invest the money in the following way: place the money in an account with Vanguard and invest 100% in the Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX) – for further information on this, check out Vanguard and check out jlcollinsnh’s explanation on this strategy, as well. Don’t waste any percentage of his inheritance paying someone else to manage the money because this will be a simple setup with the purchase of the index fund. Invest it, leave it alone, and ignore the ups and downs of the market. If you actually want to waste money paying someone else to manage the investment account, and therefore make me die even a little more, just take that percentage out (literally THOUSANDS of dollars each year) in cash, light it on fire, and sprinkle the ashes over my grave.

As Rowan grows, teach and encourage him to begin his own research into these topics on personal finance so that he may successfully manage his inheritance in such a way (i.e. learn about the 4% rule and the concepts of frugality) that he never HAS to rely on the financial aspects of working a single day in his life, thereby affording him the opportunity to follow whatever passion he may develop and nurture.

In a nutshell, that’s it. Simple, free of frills and bullshit.

Thank you for being a part of my life. May you continue to live happily and healthy. Give my son a squeeze every single day and tell him that his mommy and dadoo will be forever proud of him and that we love him more than words could ever describe.

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14 thoughts on “In the Event of My Death, Click Here…”

Cool post! I’ve wanted to do something like this for my daughter – I have a Word document started, but never finished it.

As a side note, I use LegalZoom periodically, but this is one area where you might want to consider an attorney. I had some of the basics in place for estate planning a while back with a do-it-yourself kit (not LegalZoom) and just didn’t feel like I had my bases covered. I didn’t really do anything more though until we had our daughter. Then I ended up working with a great attorney and we setup a revocable trust, pour-over will, and general durable/healthcare powers of attorney.

This might be overkill for some, but I learned a tremendous amount and am very glad I went that route as I now understand both the how and the why on how everything is setup (stuff you might not even think about like taxes, probate, etc.). On the flip-side is the cost though. We ended up going with one of the most reputable in the area and everything cost us around $2k. So it’s definitely not something you want to just do on a whim, but it’s something to consider at some point.

Hey Jim,
Sorry I’m just now replying; your comment, for some weird reason, went to my spam. However, thank you very much for the advice, as well as for answering my question of the rough cost of going through a lawyer. At this point, I’m really just looking for the basics to protect our son and his financial well-being. Without a doubt, as our financial situation continues to improve, I imagine that, at some point, hammering out more specific details in a lawyer’s office will be in order. For now, I’m looking for cost effectiveness (lol) so I’m really glad to hear that you’ve had success with Legal Zoom. Thanks again for sharing; I really appreciate your input 🙂

What a morbid post! Seriously though, we just went through the process of upgrading our life insurance just recently and we are in the middle of creating our living will and trust. I looked into Legal Zoom and find them to be a bit pricey, but let me know how that works out. I’m considering picking up a do-it-yourself kit and just having it signed before a notary. It might save us a little cash that way. What a depressing thing to have think about, but it’s reality I guess.

Thank you for the do-it-yourself idea. I just did a quick Google search and came across http://www.lawdepot.com and they have a step-by-step Last Will & Testament that was super simple. I will have to sit down with my wife to actually complete it but I did a dry run through the process and it took me about 10 minutes. At the end, before you can print it, it requires a one week free trial subscriptions that then becomes $33 per month if not cancelled.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take FREE any day of the week and twice on Sunday in this case 🙂 Also, I work with a woman who is a notary so this should end up being a pretty simple process. Thanks again! You just saved me some $$$ 😀

You’re very welcome; check out Zander Insurance. They are recommended by Dave Ramsey and, after entering your information, they list out multiple policies from multiple companies, telling you which is the cheapest on a monthly or yearly basis. Very user friendly and they have been excellent in communicating between us and the insurance company we went with. Hope this helps! 🙂

It’s something we never want to think about, but is going to happen eventually. I’m glad that you’re brave enough to share your words in this blog and it’s a very touching letter. I have yet to setup a will in case something happens to me and my wife and I know that’s on the to do list thanks to your post. 🙂

You’re absolutely right; we never know when that moment will come and it’s too late. It’s my pleasure to share. I read a piece a little while back that talked about choosing and writing to one person. While I absolutely LOVE that there are people out there (including yourself) that are reading my blog, I like to pretend that everything I write is to my son, Rowan. It sort of strips away all of the BS and lets me open up. That little turd really turns me into a sap! lol 😀

I’m glad to hear that I’ve inspired you to start working on a will, as well. Have you used or know anyone who has used Legal Zoom before? Their website makes everything seem pretty simple and straightforward so I’m hoping that works out well and saves us the extra expense of going through a lawyer.

Morbid but great post. My husband and I just got term life insurance this march 2016 and are in the process of working on our wills as well. Its the type of thing that no one wants t think about but plans for these things must be done. Thanks for the reminder

Thank you; I’m very glad you enjoyed it. We’re still getting my waiting for my wife’s life insurance to get through underwriting [they’re talking their sweet time :)] and then the wills will be next. I think that NOT talking about these types of things can turn into huge family issues when the time comes and nobody has any idea what to do. Hopefully this will help the process if, God forbid, the time comes unexpectedly.